Economic Stimulus and Highway Investment

By Bill Graves, President and CEO, American Trucking Associations;

As published on the National Journal Transportation Blog:

Transportation of freight plays a critical role in the success of our nation's economy, and in the next 10 years ATA predicts total U.S. freight tonnage will increase more than 25 percent.  President-Elect Obama correctly recognizes the challenges this growth will place on our nation's existing infrastructure.

Trucks deliver nearly 100 percent of consumer goods and about 70 percent of overall freight tonnage in the United States. Economists predict this trend to continue, and as our nation moves forward with short and long-term transportation strategies we need to keep in mind the essentiality of the industry. Even railroads and marine transportation depend on trucks for intermodal delivery of their freight to its final destination.

Trucks serve different markets than trains, yet the railroads continue to tout the ability of trains to shift freight from the road to the rails. No matter how idyllic the claims, 80 percent of U.S. communities don't have access to railroad tracks. So a shift from road to rails simply cannot be done. Economic consulting firm IHS Global Insight estimates in the next 10 years, rail intermodal freight tonnage will continue to grow but gain very little market share (less than a half of a percentage point), and rail carload tonnage not gain any market share.

ATA strongly supports significant investment in highway infrastructure as part of a broad strategy to stimulate immediate economic growth and create jobs throughout the country. The U.S. Department of Transportation finds that every $1 billion of federal highway investment, when combined with required state matching funds, supports 34,799 jobs in our nation. Over 3,000 highway and bridge construction projects with a total cost of $17.9 billion could be under way within 90 to 120 days after enactment of economic recovery legislation, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). 

Project selection should be based on their potential for producing long-term safety, mobility and environmental benefits. We urge Congress to come up with a set of criteria for selection that ranks projects according to their ability to achieve these goals.  Preference should be given to projects on the federally designated National Highway System, which carries 40 percent of the nation's traffic and 75 percent of truck traffic. Specifically, projects that alleviate critical choke points in major freight corridors deliver the greatest benefit for the public. Projects that focus on congestion reduction benefit the economy and the environment by increasing shipping efficiency and reducing fuel consumption.

While the immediate goal is to stimulate the economy, we should not lose this opportunity to make investments that will pay dividends well into the future.